Hashimoto & Self Advocacy Empowering Yourself Every Step of the Way

Are you tired of feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by your Hashimoto's or thyroid problems? Then you'll love this episode with Esther Youngkin, who'll be sharing her simple, sustainable strategies to regain energy and create lasting wellness. Welcome to Beyond Diagnosis, a podcast to raise your awareness, decisions, and voice for alternative practices so you can take back control of your health. I'm Rita De Michele, your host, a mindset and empowerment coach, and the founder of the Onus platform. Join me each week so you can create the health of your dreams. Welcome, Esther.

Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here. I love your show and how you empower people to, like, find solutions. I love it.

Thank you. Thank you for that. It is— it gives me great joy. It really does, helping people who don't know maybe what else is out there for them. They've got a prognosis, it could be limited, or they're not offered much else and are then confused. So thank you for coming on and helping make this show possible. I appreciate it.

Yeah, you're welcome.

Esther, you worked as a registered nurse for 17 years in the ER. So, you know, you've seen a lot, you've worked under pressure, you've seen a lot of people with so many different, um, you know, emergencies or diseases before becoming a holistic health educator and Hashimoto's educator.

Mm-hmm.

What brought you to that? Was Hashimoto's something that you struggled with yourself?

I did. I actually left the ER first. I was just so fed up with putting short-term band-aids on chronic things. Like, you'd see the same people over and over. Of course, you'd see the same problems over and over, and you just patch them up and tell them to go follow up with their doctor. But you'd see the same people over and over, and obviously the short-term patches are not working. And I just got to a point where I, I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't not help people. Truly heal. And so I went back to school for holistic health education, specifically for nurses. And then, and then I floundered for a while, honestly. I, I assumed that since I'd seen so many sick people, and they all needed help prevention, you know, at that level, that, that I would have a lot of clients. And it didn't turn out that way. There was not a line to my door like there is to the ER. And then a couple years later, I was diagnosed with like pre-Hashimoto's. And while the labs were pending, I was praying to God and I said, God, it can't be my thyroid. It can't be because I understand everything else, but I don't understand that. After, you know, 4 years of nursing school, 17 years in the ER, going back to school for holistic health education, I still didn't understand thyroid. And then, and then it was Hashimoto's, which is autoimmune and thyroid. And it was like God was saying, you know what, if you struggle to understand this, do you think other people struggle too? And, and that was like— it was a gift that I did not want, and yet it's been such a blessing to others as I help, help them learn.

We always get what we need, not necessarily what we want. And I don't think you ever get anything that you can't cope with. In some, in some degree. In regards to that, you know, and it's so true, there's so much contradicting information, you know, online. What one practitioner might tell you to another practitioner, it is so confusing on what to do. Uh, what's the latest research on Hashimoto's and thyroid disease?

Everybody's got like their own angle that they want to pursue for Hashimoto's. The ones that, that I love to read the most are the that put the things back on the patient or on, you know, the individual. You know, they empower you. So I love to read and learn that, you know, vitamin D, it helps your Hashimoto's. It actually impacts the antibodies. There's specific probiotics, specific strains that can help. And it's so fascinating to learn those because it's not something that we have to go to a a doctor for. Like, I don't have to go to a doctor to start taking probiotics. I can learn this information and then start doing it. And yeah, so it's really fascinating. I do try to consume information from several sources before I start talking about it, because like you said, there's so much contradicting information. I mean, like iodine is one easy example. your thyroid needs iodine to produce the hormone. And then there's people who say you need more, and there's people who say you can't have any. And they both have so much research behind their perspective. And so if you read one study, it's going to say have more iodine. And so I could start talking about that and teaching people that. Then I would read the next study, which would say, oh, don't have any iodine. And then You know, then I would be contradicting myself and confusing people.

Yes.

So yeah, it helps to read multiple different perspectives.

And someone who still then feels confused on who to go to, is that where you, you come in? Is that where your part plays as an educator? So if someone booked in with you as an educator, they can go, look, I am— I just don't know what to do. You know, like the doctor's telling me something and natural practitioners telling me something else. I've read this in Google, you know, I feel maybe I have that. I saw on social media something else. Is that where you come in and you start saying, listen, let's— do you look— do you help your per— do you help your clients on, um, like a blood test level, or is it more about information and education?

My goal is to empower somebody to make their own decisions, to take that information and apply it to their own life. So I do— I have a podcast and I have episodes about lab values. So if they're confused, they can listen and, okay, what's, what's T4 and free T4 and T3 and reverse T3? Like, I have an episode about each one because I am a registered nurse. Like, I can't help somebody with their specific labs if they're not where I am licensed, which is why I have my podcast and I do interviews like this so I can educate anybody. But as far as, you know, they're taking information from their doctor, naturopath, and online, like you said, and I love that you brought in social media because social media is full of advice and shoulds.

Yes.

So I think one of my superpowers is that I have one foot in Western medicine, 17 years in the ER. I have one foot in holistic medicine with when I went back to school for holistic education. And because I was in the ER, I can put things into plain English and explain it so somebody can understand it.

Mm-hmm.

Because in the emergency department, I had to be able to explain something simply under that pressure so they could remember it. And I mean, we know that they probably still didn't remember everything, but that was one thing that I learned, and that's one thing that I've been able to take with me into what I do now. I really think that—

yeah, that, that's super important. That's, you know, having someone basically like you in their pocket would be so helpful because can getting an early diagnosis be challenging due to its, you know, it's gradual onset of pretty much what I've heard about it, non-specific symptoms. And, you know, what are the key markers? You know, what, what is someone— you know, because thyroid can come up as the same kind of symptoms as hormonal or, you know, anything else, you know, like maybe even viral. You know, you've got the brain fog, you've got tiredness, you've got This, you've got, how do you, how, how can someone describe what they're feeling to a practitioner and get the right help to get that early diagnosis?

Yeah. An early diagnosis really does help. I like to tell people that they can start healing even before they have a diagnosis because the diagnosis is naming the symptoms. And like you said, the symptoms do start gradually and they can be all over the place. Because your thyroid impacts every single cell, every single person is going to have a slightly different on or presentation of their Hashimoto's depending on which cells are slow and which ones are normal. And so one person might have brain fog, another person might have skin issues, another person might have weight gain and feeling cold. Um, one— there's a couple like more common things, and that's the fatigue. crushing, exhausting fatigue, difficulty with your metabolism. So losing weight feels impossible. A lot of times the outer third of the eyebrows will start to thin, and that is a classic sign of thyroid. But really, I recommend that people write down a list because their doctors are so busy. So if you go down to see your doctor, you want a list and say, these are the things that I have. And then it's up to your doctor to listen, number one, and hopefully he or she is doing that, and then to look at those symptoms. Unfortunately, people on average spend 4 years and seeing 4 different doctors or specialists before they finally get a diagnosis of Hashimoto's, and that's after they start looking. So who knows how long they were having the gradual onset of symptoms before then. So I really think it's important that people understand that they can, they can pursue healing before they have a diagnosis.

And what do you mean by pursue healing? You know, so our listeners and our viewers also understand what they can do there. What do you mean by that?

I think for me, healing is feeling like yourself, feeling body, mind, and spirit healthy. And what that means for you might differ from somebody else. But optimal health doesn't mean like you look like a supermodel and like you're athletic as an Olympian.

Yeah.

They're not these crazy ideals. It's what is ideal for you. And, and that's what we can pursue. And we're not a victim to— I don't have a diagnosis yet, so I'm just gonna sit here and just be miserable. Like, that, that's, that's horrible. Like, I feel so bad for those people who are stuck that way. I want everybody to know that they can pursue healing. Like, A diagnosis is nice, it's helpful, but you can pursue healing before you have a diagnosis.

Absolutely true. And if we can go back to Hashimoto's, um, as in its triggers, what are, what are some of the underlying causes and triggers for Hashimoto's? Is it mainly gen— is it mainly genetic? Is it environmental? Um, is it what people are doing? Is it lifestyle? Is it what they're eating? So, you know, so people can— I guess I can have some relief. So, you know, a lot of people think if it's genetic, oh great, I have a— I have an answer. But it's also— that's a bit dis— I always find genetic can be a little bit disempowering because as soon as someone says, oh, it's genetic for you, well then we'll say, oh, there's nothing I can do about it then, it's genetic, you know. So where— what are the main underlying underlying causes and triggers?

Everything you— everything you mentioned is just the thing. The thing with autoimmune in general is there's 3 different things, components. There is a genetic component and there is a gut component, and then there's always one or more triggers. So that's for all autoimmune problems. And the genetics, like you said, it can be disempowering. So I really try to emphasize that you're genes are not your destiny. Like, how you eat— there's a whole field called nutrigenomics, and it's turning genes on and off with what you eat. So if you eat like processed food and a whole bunch of chemicals, you're going to trigger the genes, your genetic disposition towards illness. And if you're eating really healthy and you're eating other specific herbs, like, you can turn those genes, the illness genes, off. You can keep them off, and you can trigger other genetic propensity for health. So yeah, your genetics are not your destiny. They just, you know, they're, they're just part of you. And then the gut, there's always stuff we can do for our gut. And then when I'm teaching on a class, you know, I have 8 different triggers that I go through, because there's so many different things. So in all, you've got the genetics, the gut, and the triggers, and then the triggers, there's 8.

Can you just name what those 8 are for people? You don't necessarily have to go into depth, but at least so they're aware of what those are.

Yep. Let me, let me pull up my list so I go through them all. Um, the first one is hormone changes, and we talk about the 3 Ps, and it's pregnancy, puberty, pregnancy, and perimenopause are the 3 Ps that's common for women especially to get diagnosed with Hashimoto's at that time, um, for it to be triggered. Iodine is another, and that could be too much or too low. We like a Goldilocks Mm-hmm. Low vitamin D can be a trigger. Food reactions, whether that's gluten or dairy, soy, those can all be triggers. Environmental chemicals is a huge one. And then there's stress. That's number 6. But then number 7 and 8 are specific stressors, and that's blood sugar issues. So whether it's high or low, that's a specific stressor on your body that's so big we made it its own trigger. And then infections of any kind, so viruses, bacteria, mold, any of those things can also trigger Hashimoto's.

That is fantastic. You know what, that is really helpful, I think, for someone to know that, because they can write down— after listening to this podcast, they can write down those triggers, have that list, and take it to their health professional and say, I would like to see if I have any of this In my blood work, do I have virus in my blood work? Do I have allergies or do I have intolerances? Do I have you know anything else that you described there or that you spoke about there? That is really helpful. I think to put it as a in their toolkit to as information so they've become informed because I think the best thing is is an informed patient.

Absolutely.

In that list of triggers, it was actually going to be my next— one of my questions was, there is so much information and so many people talk about if you have any form of thyroid, whether it is just low or overactive or Hashimoto's, is gluten, the connection between the thyroid and gluten. I find that they talk about that more than dairy. Is that true? What is— why do people keep talking about the connection between the thyroid and gluten?

Because gluten looks on a molecular level very similar to your thyroid hormone. So if you have an autoimmune condition and that's, you know, your immune system is confused and attacking yourself, and all of a sudden it's deciding that it's going to attack thyroid, and now you're eating a lot of gluten Well, that immune system is going to start attacking more because it's confusing the gluten for thyroid and it thinks it's being invaded. So they call it a molecular mimic, or molecular mimicry is gluten. And that is one reason that there's that huge tie, like you said. Dr. Isabella Wentz is a pharmacist and she did one study. It was more— it wasn't like A double-blind study or something. She just asked people how they felt when they went off gluten, and I think it was like 80% of people with Hashimoto's felt significantly better when they gave up gluten.

That's a big percentage, and it kind of sounds like a chicken-egg situation. Is does gluten affect your thyroid if you're sensitive to gluten, or and it gives you affects your thyroid gives you Hashimoto's? Or do you have Hashimoto's and then you shouldn't have gluten because it affects your thyroid? Is it best just to say—

Definitely, definitely chicken and egg. However, gluten is also inflammatory, and we know that the more inflammation you have in the body, the more prone your immune system is to get confused and to develop an autoimmune. So it's almost like the thyroid or the gluten comes first. But then exacerbates everything and it turns into chicken and egg.

Yeah, I don't think it, it would do anyone any harm to either get off gluten completely or lower their intake of gluten because really, God, we're like the breadbasket of the world, aren't we? Like everyone, pastry, bread, biscuits, it's just never-ending, you know, it's just out of, out of ratio to everything else.

It really is.

So speaking about all that, you know, it's, it's really coming down— it's really— you're directing it down to how to actually be the CEO of your own health. I think that is the key to, like you were saying, to be in charge, to know what to say to a doctor, to heal. You know, you can, you can heal before you get a diagnosis, or you, you know That prevention is really about being the CEO. Can you talk about that a little?

Yeah, I love to talk about this because you are in charge of your own health. You are the CEO, and every successful CEO has a team behind them, like a board of directors. And so it's your job to know the whole picture and to make the ultimate decisions. It's also your job as the CEO of your own health to get good people on your team. So, you know, a good Western medicine doctor if you want prescriptions, a good chiropractor if you want to make sure that, you know, your— all your nerves are working. Maybe you decide on your team you want a nutritionist because you're not sure, like, if you give up gluten, what are you gonna eat? Like, yeah, it's a big hurdle.

It can be confusing.

Yeah. So the CEO of your own health means that you get to form your team, and then each one of those team members, if they're doing a good job, they are giving you the best advice that they can. For you, and then it's your turn to take that advice and apply it. Like, what's going to work in my life?

Absolutely. What great advice! Also, what would you say to the to the listener who has just heard that and would like to advocate for themselves, but are unsure how to go about that and what to say? Like you've been in ER. You know what it's like to be around you know Western doctors. You also now know what it's like to be around.

Yeah.

Holistic practitioners. I think the way— I think the way people should approach each is slightly different. Like, you have a doctor, he's got 10 minutes. You can't be going into this big story. Whereas holistic practitioners usually have— allow more time. So, you know, they tend to want to get to more of the root cause of your— what's causing your Hashimoto's. What can you say to our listeners to help those who feel a bit— what can I say— um, nervous about advocating for themselves or just don't know the questions to ask?

Yeah, I think why is always a good question. Why? Like, follow the who, what, when, where, why, how, you know, we teach our kids. Um, but if they say, I think you should do this, ask why. I think you should, you know, take this medicine.

Why?

What's it gonna do? Or if they give you a diagnosis, which, like, side note, ask for the diagnosis because sometimes they don't give you a diagnosis. They just say, here's a medication. So ask for a diagnosis and then always ask, what do you think caused it? And they might not know, but if they do, then, then you've got like another step ahead.

Yeah, absolutely. And I remember when— I mean, I've got a few thyroid issues, and I remember speaking to my doctor and we just did the normal thyroid test. And I said, I would really like to know, because I think— because I knew, and that's what I'm trying to say, is I asked for the antibody test.

Uh, right, right.

And his first response to me was That's not covered by Medicare. And I'm like, I don't care. Oh hey, I'll pay what the test costs. See, they won't naturally do that for you because it's not covered. But I think that's really important for our listeners to know that they may give you the they may look at your markers, your thyroid markers. But I think they really need to ask. I want an antibody test as well, and that that's the one that leads to knowing whether you've got Hashimoto's. Is that right?

There's a couple that I say to try to get, and like you said, sometimes the doctors will refuse, and it's not really that the doctors are refusing. The insurance companies have told the doctors to refuse.

Yes.

Yes. So it's really the insurance companies. So you might have to pay like you did, and and I also did. I really like to see the antibody tests because I want to know. Is my body attacking myself? I also really want to see how much thyroid hormone is available. So that's the free T4 and also the free T3. Free just means it's available for your body to use. And then I think it's really important to get the reverse T3 lab, which is not common either. The reverse T3 is when your thyroid produces T4, Your body is supposed to convert it to T3, which is like the active, like the key, the ignition key. But sometimes your body knows that you need to prioritize rest because it's when you're resting that you heal. And so the body is like, it's so wise. It's like, no, I'm not going to convert the T4 into more action. I don't want to, you know, rev up your body and make you have lots of energy. I actually want rest. And so your body prioritizes that and it puts the brakes on, and that's reverse T3. So I really want to know, is the reverse T3 elevated? Because that's a signal that my body has said no. If my free T3 is low, so it's not being converted, the thyroid is not being converted, but the reverse T3 is not elevated, then there's a different cause. So knowing, like, is my body not able to convert the thyroid appropriately, that's going to lead me down one path versus my body is able to, but it's not because it needs to prioritize rest. That's going to lead me down a different path of healing. So I think to— I guess to sum up, so a doctor will automatically do the TSH. That's the common one.

Yes.

I want free T4, free T3, and reverse T3 along with the antibodies. And then always throw in a vitamin D because that's So directly correlated with your healing journey.

That's amazing, and I guess the key to that takeaway is also that if your doctor or even health other health practitioner says no, you don't need those tests, then find someone else who will, or even a doctor who specializes in thyroid. People, that's that CEO part I feel, is don't be afraid to find another doctor or practitioner if they're not listening to you or they don't want to do what you're asking, or find someone who does actually specialize in what you're struggling with.

Yeah, yeah. And I have a question for you. In the United States, I think it's 47 of the 50 states, we can order our own labs for ourselves. The government, the state government in a couple states has said no, individuals don't have that much ability, which I find horrible. What is it like in Australia? Can people order their own labs or has the government said no?

I don't know of people ordering their own labs. Um, definitely not a lab like the doctor would be able to do. Definitely not like that. But there are some companies that are starting to come up where you can— they will send you a kit. They will send you a kit. So then either, you know, it's with your urine or saliva or something like that. You send that, that back to them and they will send you a report. So it is like a test.

Yes.

And yes, you can do that. Freely. No one will stop you from doing that.

Nice.

Yeah, you can definitely do that. You just have to find a reputable company, and the ones that do it, they might, you know, obviously they're all online, um, but to order your own labs like a doctor would order, etc., no. Okay, we don't have that. That would be lovely.

Maybe someday it will come. If you've already got, you know, companies that are allowing urine and saliva testing, then maybe blood work is— maybe it's coming down the pike.

Oh, absolutely. You know, you can— there are companies that will do the genetic testing, and you can do that yourself. You can look up online companies that do that, and you can just do that yourself. And you have that information, and they send it to your phone, you know, usually within an app or an email or something like that. So you can become informed Without needing to go to you know a functional doctor or a doctor or whoever. If you want to take it further, I guess that's when you will. But at least you've got the information on your on and you've read it and you've studied it and you understand yourself. That is you know is the important part, isn't it? Because that's where it should start. And the other thing I wanted to speak to you about was you know I've heard a lot of people talk about like a Hashimoto or Flare. So what what is a flare, and how does someone even know or recognize that they're having a flare?

That's a great question, and I felt so stupid when I like had Hashimoto's, and I'm like, "What's a flare?" Like people talk about it like it's this obvious thing, and I was like, "Well, what is it?" So I had to Google it, and it's actually I have a podcast episode about it, and it's one of the top ten podcast episodes. So I'm not the only one with that question, and you are. Either. Um, essentially it's just a worsening of symptoms. And so a flare isn't going to look the same for everybody because Hashimoto's doesn't look the same for everybody. A flare is going to be— it's like a match, you know, it's regular, a flame, and then it will flare up. It's the same, the same flame, just bigger. It's the same thing with Hashimoto's. It's your same Hashimoto's. Just bigger. And some people will have a flare and then it will go back down, and then some people will have a flare and then that will become their new normal.

Oh yeah, so they will get increased, more intense symptoms and stay at that level, like they've just risen to another level.

Is that right?

Yeah. Wow, that's really hard. What, what causes flares?

The same.

I know there would be many, but what are some of the major ones?

It's the 8 triggers that I went through earlier. It's almost always they're triggering your Hashimoto's, they're also triggering a flare. And so for myself, I would get a flare every winter. And so that wasn't one of— I mean, I didn't put winter as one of the triggers of Hashimoto's, but I have learned that people's TSH typically changes a little bit in the winter. Um, which was fascinating to find out. I thought maybe it was just cold, so I was like putting on all the long johns, all the layers. Um, turns out your body responds to seasons differently. Um, so typically it's those 8 triggers that I went through before, but there's, there's also other ones like winter.

Seasonal? I would never have thought so. I thought so for like depression, you know, you have that seasonal affective disorder but not for your thyroid. Well, there you go, that's something new. What are some of the most promising alternative therapies, uh, for managing Hashimoto's symptoms, and is there any evidence that supports them?

I think vitamin D has been one of the biggest, and it's fascinating, people still don't believe in that sometimes. Like, you'll get these people are like, no, you just need to take your thyroid medicine, that's all. And so something so simple as vitamin D, I think that has power to change so many lives because people are already used to taking a pill. I guess you can put it that way. And vitamin D is just a pill. So it's, it's an alternative therapy in essence, but it makes a difference on a, on your immune system. It makes a difference for your antibodies. And it's so simple. What I feel is simple is effective. If something's too complicated, people aren't going to do it. So if every single person with Hashimoto's checked their vitamin D level and got that back into balance and increased it, like, what would we do for the whole world for Hashimoto's? Like, how much could we reduce it if we just had everybody do that one simple thing?

Um, Absolutely, because we are, as, as a global people, I guess we have become fearful of the sun. Well, especially here in Australia, so fearful of the sun. You know, you have to wear a hat everywhere. Kids have to wear, you know, the, the put the hat on, put the sunscreen on, put the long sleeves. We're not getting the vitamin D that we used to, so I'm sure there's Would you find that low, or most people who are very low with vitamin D because of our new fear of the sun, um, is that a— that would be then a major contributor to this increase in thyroid problems that we see globally?

Yeah, vitamin D impacts so many things. Like, it even is, um, excuse me, it's even tied to the increase in multiple sclerosis. Like they say, if you've had a low vitamin D level up until you're age 10, then your incidence of MS goes— or when they look at people with MS, like they can tie it back to that. Um, there's so many things that are tied to vitamin D. I think it impacts like 60 different processes. As like you said, we're fearful of the sun. We think we're doing a good thing, like we're doing what we're supposed to, we're protecting ourselves, but at the same time— It's not actually the healthiest for us. We don't want skin cancer, but we have to strike that Goldilocks balance.

It is, it is so hard, isn't it, between overexposing ourselves, exposing ourselves to skin cancer, to sun damage and all the rest of it, but actually getting the proper amount of natural sunlight, natural vitamin D, as opposed to always taking it. It is, it's so like you said, that Goldilocks balance is really hard to achieve. So how does, uh, so, uh, social prescribing— people starting to talk about this social prescribing— hey, what is social prescribing, and does it help our sufferers have a better outcome?

So social prescribing— you know what, you should actually have an author on your show. So a book just came out, it's called The Connection Cure, and it's all about social prescribing and the power of people and nature and connections. And it's a fascinating book. I find that social prescribing is a lot of symptom management, at least for Hashimoto's. Like social prescribing, you're going to find things that are helpful for pain. You're going to find things that are helpful for depression. And both of those are associated with Hashimoto's. And, you know, your social prescription— you can get actually a prescription from your doctor that says go join a nature club. And they have like clubs that will— you'll take a walk out in the woods and, and it helps. Like research, they've found it really helps with various aspects like depression or ADHD. There's so many studies. But I find that I have not seen any that help at the root cause level for Hashimoto's. So a lot of the symptom level. And quite honestly, if you're going to say like, do I need a medication or do I need to go out in nature? I would rather that you prescribe nature because it's helping so many things. So but still symptom level as far as I have seen for social prescribing.

And that is the key, isn't it? Is to actually get yourself educated or speak to someone like yourself who can help educate you. Find someone who can help you find the root cause of your condition. Because is it not that your root cause is expressed through your thyroid, is what I'm trying to say? Like, your thyroid is kind of the end result of whatever is happening downstream. So, you know, functional doctors or some other form of natural practitioner who actually look at the root cause, not just the end, and then prescribe would be your number one. And then I guess this, this social aspect, this— well, I mean, social prescribing is new to me. You know, I have never really heard that term before, but, you know, it's my new fave. I think it's fantastic. And it is so So true. Prescribe something social. Get outside, get connecting with a community group, uh, do something active. And before we sign off today, that was one of the things I did want to actually talk about earlier. Active with Hashimoto's, do you need to exercise differently?

Great question. Yes, sometimes you do. So one of the triggers for Hashimoto's, which, you know, can trigger Hashimoto's or can trigger a flare, is stress. And exercise itself is a stressor on the body. So somebody's job as the CEO of their own health is to figure out what exercise is a good stress and what is too much. So for me, I like to run. I find running to be a mental stress reliever, but I found that every time I ran, even if I wasn't running hard, I would have a slight flare-up of my Hashimoto's. If I walked, I would not have that. So I had to realize for myself that running or a HIIT workout is too much stress for my body. I hope to like build up my resilience and heal enough that one day I can run again. But at this point in time, my body has said that's too much of a stressor. So I'm walking instead, or I'm doing, you know, Pilates or yoga or something that's not such a physical stressor. Other people with Hashimoto's, they can still run and they don't have a problem. So it's really listening to your body and finding out what it is for you. Is it too much of a stressor or is it a healthy stress?

And they'll soon find out. Like you said, you had a flare-up, so they'll soon find out if they're exhausted or their joint pain is intensified. They're going to get signs. Their body's going to speak to them, basically.

Yeah. And then it's our job to listen, because sometimes we're in denial. We're like, oh, I just had a hard run, of course I'm tired. Or I just did, you know, a high-intensity workout, of course my joints are tight or Achy. But it's, you know, start tracking your symptoms, keep a diary, keep a log, because it is our job to listen to our body and figure out what is too much and what's not too much.

I love that. Yeah, you've covered so many great points throughout. So I'd like to finish on what would you like our listeners to start doing today to take control of their health?

That is a great question. I want them, number one, to realize that they are in charge of their health. It's not, it's not, you know, somebody else's job. And in that vein, look for one simple thing to do each day. 1% better each day adds up to huge gains in your health. And sometimes, like, you don't have the energy to make huge changes, but can you stay hydrated that day? Or can you get your steps in? Can you reduce the, you know, toxins in your house? Can you unplug all of the, like, Plugins, the scented plugins. Like, there's so many little things that we can do, and if we pick one thing each day, we're gonna make huge changes. And I think that's, that's the message I want everybody to know, is you are in charge and simple things can make a difference.

I love that. Simple things, not these big amazing moves, not this, you know, you have to change your whole world in one day. It's simple It may be one thing a week if that's all you can cope with, you know. Like, be kind and compassionate to yourself as well, you know. You don't have to move mountains. It's those small little incremental, you know, turns of the rocks, so to speak.

Yes, I love it.

It has been such a pleasure, Essa. And for everyone who thinks they have Hashimoto's or knows that they do, But would like to get educated more about it, please. Essa's details are in the show notes. Contact her, educate yourself about what you're experiencing, and also so she can empower you on what to do. Essa, thank you so much for being on the show. It's been such a pleasure.

Thank you. It was wonderful.

I would love to know. What was the biggest insight or aha moment you got from this interview, so you can now speak up, take action, and make informed decisions for your health? And if you like this episode, get instant access to your free ebook, Alternative Wisdom: Taking Back Control of Your Health, at life-onus.com.